Characteristics of good mentors.

Physician executives who have advanced in their careers have had people who helped them. Six successful physician executives were interviewed about how mentors encouraged, taught, and helped them grow. Most agreed the term role model was more comfortable to them than the word mentor and that they only recognized these people as mentors when they looked back on their career paths--not at the time the interactions were happening. Sometimes they were role models and sometimes they were just the right person with the right information at the right time. Most were located in the person's city and organization and seen daily, but some were in another part of the country and seen on occasional visits but regularly talked to each other on the phone. Generally they were friends who created safe environments for learning, were protectors, gave specific feedback, viewed problems from a different angle, and stretched the thinking of those who sought their advice.